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Rapid Deployment Force
The Rapid Deployment Force (or RDF) are an element of Starfleet's Tactical Command. Designed to be quickly deployed to trouble spots anywhere in the Federation, the RDF is built along 75% TacFleet and 25% Logistics Command vessels and headed by the U.S.S. Damocles History In the 23rd century, as the United Federation of Planets spread across the stars, it became quickly that apparent that the member worlds could not move ships around quickly enough to respond to new threats. Starship captains were expected to be granted a lot of latitude to deal with problems on their own, as all too often their exploration cruiser or frigate would be the only vessel in the vicinity when an alien probe or distress call was detected. Reserve assets were situated at key worlds but all too often even a major core planet like Earth or Vulcan found itself lacking in defence assets because the nearest ships were sectors away. In the early 24th century improved warp speeds meant that it was easier to move fleet assets swiftly. Despite this, Starfleet still found itself struggling as the fleet had shrunk in size due to a variety of factors - the Klingon rapprochement, Romulan isolationism and relative technological inferiority of other Threat fleets. As such, much of the fleet was still composed of 23rd century models which remained too slow to maneuver. This came to a head at the start of 2367 when a Borg invasion of Federation space had to be intercepted. The Battle of Wolf 359 saw 39 ships deployed as part of the defensive action, a small percentage of fleet assets but the only ones that could be brought together in time. Many of these ships were mothballed and training ships and none of the latest craft designs such as the Galaxy-Class were present, making the battle a bloodbath from which only one craft escaped. It was clear that the rebuilding of the fleet would have to include a better focus on emergency deployment of starships. As such, the Rapid Deployment Force was commissioned and a particular focus was put on craft with long-duration, high-speed warp engines. This force proved its worth in the Dominion War and although undergoing heavy losses it proved a vital tactical element. Composition and Usage Due to it’s nature, the RDF is composed of swift vessels such as Bradbury-Class, Intrepid-Class, Steamrunner-Class and Broadsword-Class - the intention being to use crafts which can attain and maintain a high-warp speed while still presenting a solid tactical suite. The RDF is broken up into smaller operational units spread out across the Federation and kept on alert for immediate movement if required. This movement is coordinated by a special set of communications relay stations outside of the basic communications system with the intent of minimizing the impact of any extensive jamming, spoofing, and attack to the primary network which could be expected in a conflict with a technologically adept Threat force. It is expected that the RDF's ships will serve as the opening "picket", attempting to engage and slow any enemy advance for long enough that a full fleet can then be formed and deployed to engage the threat. Category:Starfleet